of mast and sail changes and the strain of Handel's Messiah.

But instead of the "Hallelujah Chorus'' Francis Carter's fun-loving crew transformed the words into their own " Longobarda Chorus.'' And they had plenty to sing about.

The Bermuda entry was the first sailboat to finish in the fourth and fifth regattas of the Onion Patch series yesterday, but were unable to overtake Infinity and Merrythought on corrected positions in Class One.

The races commemorated the 150th anniversary of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club (RBYC).

Idler , owned and skippered by George David of West Hartford, Connecticut, finished first in the fleet after both races. Her one-and-a-half points helped the New York Yacht Club I (NYYC I) secure overall victory in the Onion Patch Series. Idler also led Class Two.

Another NYYC I member, Infinity , skippered by John Thomson, was third overall with seven points and gained top prize in Class Two.

Conspiracy , winner of the Racing Division in the Newport to Bermuda race, was the third member of the NYYC I squad and was tied for fourth with War Stories and Tabasco on 11 points.

Second overall after yesterday's races, run in light winds and hot and hazy conditions was Nicole on six points.

Even though Bermuda entries were shutout of the big prizes, Longobarda , with her white and yellow spinnaker puffed out like a bodybuilder's chest at a beach, gave sailing fans much to smile about.

"The crew was working extraordinarily well together and we knew we could get out there and hopefully get outside Infinity , but unfortunately we didn't quite do it,'' said Carter yesterday following the races at the RBYC. "But it's nice being first across the line, especially in Island waters, so we're all very pleased and very thrilled. It's a great finish to the series.

Infinity and Merrythought , the only other boats in Class One, trailed Longobarda in both races but lucked out on the IMS handicapping system.

" Longobarda is a fast boat, really big, and always way in front of us,'' said Infinity crew member Doug Stubee later. "You just look at them and say `wow it's big and it's fast.''' Said Carter: "She's a big and powerful boat and we're supposed to be miles ahead. There was a lot of traffic out there and a lot of fun going through the small boats.'' The second race was delayed by more than an hour while the cruise ship Song of America left the Harbour. During that time Longobarda 's crew members sang Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus'' after proving they could handle anything that came their way in the morning session.

"( Logobarda owner) Mike Slade and I were sitting in New York Yacht Club one evening and we said we've got to have one song and I started singing ` Longobarda !, Longobarda !, and it absolutely fits perfectly to the Messiah,'' said a smiling Carter. "So we started playing it up in Newport on a compact disc and had a lot of fun with it. That boat is like a great big speaker. It's just absolutely wonderful. And it's a nice great rousing song.'' One of the day's most interesting battles took place in Class Two where Idler and Tabasco slugged it out for top honours.

"It wasn't really a dog fight,'' said Tabasco owner and captain Bob Aron, his thoughts as elusive as his boat. "It was more like Idler was pulling us around on a leash. She's a faster boat they really sailed her well it was just great fun. I mean, all the boats sailed well, but weather was really light and flukey.'' Capella VII took first place in Class Three, engaged in a dog fight of their own with second place finisher Gold Digger and third place Indigo .

Another interesting battle took place in Class Four, eventually won by Conspiracy and War Stories . Morning Star threatened the leaders in the second race but was never the same after losing her spinnaker, which came close to Gerra II , the press boat skippered by Willy Weber.

Besides finishing second overall, Nicole won first place in Class Five with Taniwha and Seventh Son ending up in second and third place.

Alphida , skippered by Kirk Cooper, finished fourth in Class Two, while Jordy Walker's Jalapenos Dos was seventh in Class Three.

Buddy Rego's Tsunami was fourth in Class Four while Monterey , captained by Les Crane, finished 15th in Class Five.

Aron summed up the feelings many of the skippers had.

"The week in Bermuda has been fantastic, I mean we still have the same number of guys in the crew that we started with,'' he said. "We found them all and they all showed up for the races today. We love it down here. We'll do it next time.'' Carter's fling with Longobarda is also about to end and he'll have to get used to sailing his own boat again.

"To sail on Longobarda was a thrill of a lifetime.'' WELL DONE -- The crew of Longobarda celebrate their first place finishes in the fourth and fifth races of the Onion Patch series yesterday, but fell to third under the IMS handicapping system.